Jason hung by a sword. He was pretty calm for someone who was hanging by the hilt of a sword. Darkness engulfed his entire being. But for Jason, it wasn’t a problem. Night Vision, a utility skill that shined under certain circumstances, and this were one of them. But unlike him, the others who were hanging on him didn’t have the pleasure of seeing in the dark.

“Jason, are we dead?” Hakeem’s voice breached through the darkness.

“We’re not, you idiot!” Esther replied. She was being held in Jason’s one-arm hug. “What should we do, Jason?”

All ears were waiting for Jason’s voice. They couldn’t see Jason, but they could feel the sensation of his body. After all, they were hanging on to him for their dear lives.

Fuck, my flank fucking hurt. The bullet wound on his flank hurt like hell. It didn’t even go through as the bullet was still stuck in his body. He had the strength to hold on to the sword while carrying all of his allies but the wound trickled down his strength. Blood seeped out from his bullet wound, coming down right to the tip of his shoe.

Arrluk, who was hugging Jason by the injured flank, felt the viscous fluid clashing against his skin. He even smelled the metallic fresh blood as he kept his silence.

“Nuniq? Are you injured, son?” the old man turned his attention to his beloved, his grandchildren. He witnessed it for himself, Tapeesa turning into an ice figure. He saw her falling down and Nuniq screaming out loud. It was his worst nightmare, and deep down, he prayed that both of them were fine. The concern of a grandfather echoed in the darkness, yet there was no reply.

The grandson stayed quiet as he lay quiet on Jason’s shoulder. His aching hands didn’t let go of his unconscious sister as he held on to her tight. Too many things were running inside his head, but one kept on rewinding in his mind. The sight of his sister guarding him against the snipers, he watched her fall as they were cracks on her ice figure. He called out to her, yet there was no response.

“Boy?! are you injured?” Arrluk asked.

“He’s fine, old man,” Jason said. “He’s unconscious, but he’s still breathing.”

“Are you sure?!” Arrluk asked.

“I can feel his chest moving, and don’t forget, I can see in the dark. He’s still alive,” Jason said.

“What about Tapeesa? Is she well?” Arrluk asked.

“She’s fine. Unconscious, like her brother,” Jason answered. He didn’t hesitate to answer the old man’s question. Despite telling him as such, he had no idea about Tapeesa’s condition. He couldn’t stretch his neck like some straw-wearing pirate, but a white lie wouldn’t hurt, considering the situation they were in. An unstable ally would only be a burden, and Jason couldn’t afford to deal with such a situation at the moment.

The echoing explosion didn’t stop as it rumbled from on top of the darkness. The sword hilt he held kept vibrating as Jason kept his grip tight. Fifteen minutes passed, and everything died down.

I need a plan. I can’t just be stuck like this for the whole time. Even with my status, I don’t think I can keep this up for a whole day. Jason looked around. There was nothing but only the deep depth and the wall of the cliffside.

Can I dig the cliffside and make an impromptu cave? But will it work? I don’t want to get buried by some falling rocks and dirt. He thought of an idea. But achieving it might be a problem.

“Hakeem, make use of your long arm and make a hole on the cliffside,” Jason said.

“You say what now?” Hakeem couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“We’re gonna need a cave, or else we’re probably going to die,” Jason said. The thought of climbing their way up was something Jason had scratched off since the beginning. Who knows? There might be more surprises waiting for them at the top, and a bullet in the head wasn’t something he was looking forward to.

“But how man? I’m literally clinging to you,” said Hakeem.

“Don’t be a bitch and just do it with that freaky long arms of yours,” Esther said.

Hakeem and Jason were shocked by the sudden outburst. They didn’t expect the silent Esther to be a deadly cruel spitting witch. Unlike what they thought, Esther herself was having trouble adapting in the darkness of this ravine, and to top it off, she wasn’t fond of heights.

“You don’t have to be that harsh,” Hakeem mumbled. He grasped tight to Jason with one his hand while the other started doing the work. The mallet that instilled fear to every UC alike was now being used fitting for its character.

“Don’t worry Hakeem. Just trust your stats and keep your focus on holding on and digging,” Jason said. He threw a bit of pep talk since Esther went over the line just now. A crack on a relationship would be detrimental.

“How can I help, Mr.Park?” Arrluk opened his mouth. The old man knew Jason’s real condition and he would do his best in aiding this man who had helped them. To be truthful, Arrluk didn’t felt like it was wrong if Jason chose to abandon him and his grandchildren. Since he himself would do it in a beat as his grandchildren were his biggest priority.

Jason startled by the sudden change in Arrluk. The old man started calling him in a polite manner, the same as before he revealed he was working with the military.

“It’s fine. You just need to keep tight on me,” Jason said.

“Are you sure, I-” Arrluk was persistent in trying to help, but Hakeem cut him off.

“Shit, I miss,” Hakeem complained. He couldn’t see where he should hit as he was blind as a bat.

“Hakeem, more to your right,” Jason aided Hakeem with the direction. Before long, Hakeem was doing a pretty good job digging out a small hole with Jason’s guidance. Both of them had to thank the status as no mere human could attempt such a feat. Shaving down a hill into a cave was something unthinkable for a man in a short time.

Fifteen minutes passed, and a sizable hole was made. Not to the point of a cave, but at least it gave some room for Jason to plan his step. How am I going to do this? Two people are on my shoulders, one is at my back, one is clinging on me by the waist, and another in my arm…

Jason felt his conscience slipping a bit. He shook his head, trying to stay awake. Shit, that bullet wound is becoming a problem.

He boasted high stamina even among his peers, but even such stamina couldn’t face-off against blood loss. It was already a miracle he could hang on and stay awake with such injury. But he needed to step it up.

Ah, shit. I don’t want to do this. He hated pain, and the feeling was only going to get worse as he thought of his next step.

“Hold on tight. I’m going to move,” Jason said. He was about to attempt something stupid, but it was better than nothing. He couldn’t really ask Hakeem to take a leap of faith and hopefully landed at that small hole he made. Hakeem was athletic, but in this kind of darkness, anything could happen, and losing a friend was not an option.

Jason shifted his grip bit by bit forward. It was slow and steady. The sword was stuck on the cliffside, and he intended to come closer to the cliffside. Then, his grip left the hilt as he felt pain coursing through his fingers.

He gritted his teeth and bore the pain. The blade of his sword dug into his skin. He tried his best to clenched it tight as he didn’t want to accidentally slice off his own fingers.

Fuck, I hate this. He stopped as he could feel his body touching the cliffside.

“Hakeem, search to your left and get a good grip,” said Jason.

Hakeem didn’t refute his words and did what was told. He found the large enough hole and found a good grip.

“I got it,” said Hakeem.

“You sure you get a good grip?” Jason asked.

“Yea, I’m sure,” Hakeem said.

”I need you to do this slowly. Loosen your legs around my waist and try to reach for the hole,” Jason said.

”Got it,” Hakeem said. The old friend from high school was doing his best not to make a mistake. He couldn’t see a thing as he relied only on his sense of touch.

“I’m going,” Hakeem jumped towards the hole and left the safety of Jason’s back.

But the sounds of crumbling rock echoed in the dark.

“What happened? Hakeem! Are you there?!” Esther asked. She was shaken the moment she heard the stones crumbling and dropping into the ravine.

Jason kept his eyes on Hakeem, and he sweated like mad. Hakeem was hanging by the grace of his mallet, stuck in between the rocks on the cliff. Hakeem was calming himself down with his back drenched in sweat. He almost fell off to his doom, but his instinct was quick. He calmed his nerves by breathing in slowly, doing it in a rhythm.

Hakeem was deep in focus, like the time when it was the playoff back in high school. Old habits died hard, and his winning mentality was still there in him even after leaving his past glory.

“You good?” Jason asked.

“Yea…” Hakeem replied. Hakeem reached out with his other hand, trying to find the edge of the hole.

“A bit up,” Jason helped him a bit, and just a little while, Hakeem found his footing. He pulled himself up and sat in the little hole just fit enough for him.

Hakeem didn’t take a breather as he continued shaving down the hole, making it bigger like a cave. Only the sound of a mallet hitting the rock dirt echoed in the darkness. Half an hour later, an artificial cave was made.

Jason was about to collapse with how much blood he was losing with every ticking second. He sent Esther first and then Arrluk. The weight lightened, and last in line was himself and the two siblings on top of him. He felt the ground beneath his feet as he let down the two siblings on the ground.

He took in the sight of everyone, who was safe and sound after experiencing a close call. He smiled as his vision slowly fading.

“I think I need a bit of-” his words fell off as he dropped on the ground.

All of them heard something fallen, and they had a bad feeling about it.

“Brother?!” Esther said.

“Jason? You okay?” Hakeem asked.

Both couldn’t see a thing in the darkness, but Arrluk knew what just happened.

“Find him! He lost too much blood!”

All three scrambled on all fours, searching for Jason while not taking a misstep to a deep ravine. In the end, in the deep darkness of a ravine, the hope that these people clung on was lost. Cries of desperation filled the darkness as they searched for that hope.